Might be old news to some people here but probably still worth mentioning.

Replaced my rear KYBs with Tokico Illuminas recently and without even touching the adjustment, it rode worlds better than the KYB AGX. It wasn't until I got home that I checked the adjustment and both rears were set to full stiff (5/5) from the factory. The KYBs set at 5/8 rode worse. Needless to say, the fronts will be replaced as soon as the budget permits.

Couple of things to note on the Illuminas as well: easier to tighten the top nut due to the piston's design, includes new bushings. This is with OEM ITR springs.

IMO worth extra price over KYB AGX.

 

yes, I enjoyed my illuminas over my agx's. Definitely got rid of the bottoming out problem.

 

thx, i was about to buy some agx's bc noone is selling used illumina's for an eg, i think i'll just hold out .

 

Illumina's cost more so they better be better

But the Illumina's cost is very near Koni Yellow costs so I probably would have thought about that too since the Yellows are way better.

 

when saying "they rode better" with the tokicos on 5/5 versus the kyb's on 5/8, are you referring to a softer ride, or less bounce? (has kyb's but should have gotten konis )

 

well, for me it was less bounce and less bottoming out, the ride was firmer.

 

Illuminas kick ***,ive had them on my integra for the last 2 years and never bottom out. I ride with them on 5/5 front and rear, I have almost zero bodyroll but the ride is bumpy as hell. I defionatly recomend them for anyone looking for a high quality shock at a good price.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 99teggsr &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Illuminas kick ***...I have almost zero bodyroll but the ride is bumpy as hell. </TD></TR></TABLE>

"bumpy as hell" is NOT good! that alone disqualifies this strut for me. what springs are you using?

 

He also said they he had them set at 5/5. I had mine set at 4/4 and they were not "bumpy as hell"

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by chjkingme &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">when saying "they rode better" with the tokicos on 5/5 versus the kyb's on 5/8, are you referring to a softer ride, or less bounce? (has kyb's but should have gotten konis )
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It seemed like the Illuminas had slightly less compression damping than the AGXs. Since the adjustment on both dampers (and probably most other single adjustable dampers) has a greater effect on rebound damping as opposed to compression, adjusting the AGX wouldn't affect the ride as much. Settings from 3-6 on the AGX would be hardly noticeable, whereas I could feel the difference in ride from 3 and 5 on the Illuminas

So yes they Illuminas rode softer, but I could pretty much tune out the bounce (rebound) on either set with the provided adjustment.

Yes Koni yellows are widely regarded as better then the Illuminas (IMO, Bilsteins are also excellent if not better than Konis), I have one problem with them. The adjustment has no detents or clicks. Sure you can turn the **** by counting 1/8 turn, 1/4, 3/8, etc. but I prefer having an actual stop or click so I know what setting I'm on.

The Konis would probably most advantageous if one had a shock dyno so you could see that both sides (left and right) were equal, or at least where you want them to be. But if you had a shock dyno, you wouldn't be spending your hard-earned cash on Koni yellows. You'd be moving on to double-adjustable, remote reservoir *****. [Insert brand here]

 

Tokico products are top notch!